A Thousand Ways to Live
by supworld
Summary: What if everything that could have been was now reality? Read about each of the Seven as they visit their other selves in different dimensions. Each of them learn what their lives could have looked like if certain choices were made differently, whether made by them or others in their lives. How much changes? Will they even know themselves anymore? Follow story to read more
1. Introduction

**About This Story**

Hello people out there!

So this is another story idea I had a little while ago. I got excited about it and now I decided to take action. The reason I'm not starting with the first chapter right away is because I want to let you know about where the idea came from and what the backstory is so you understand everything a bit better.

Now if you ever visited my profile page, you would have noticed a list of my favorite books and series. One of which is the _A Thousand Pieces of You_ trilogy. Personally, this is one of my top favorite series out there. However, I'm not going into full detail about it because it's full of science and I can only understand parts of it. The storyline, however is amazing. For you guys out there that have read it already, you are now my best friends! If not, I'll explain a bit to make things clearer for you.

 **A Quick Look at the Series**

Basically, the story is about a girl and her two guy friends (one of which is her boyfriend) who travel through different dimensions with devices called "firebirds". These devices are disguised as necklaces. In the story, her parent's – being scientists – created them. However, there is a villain in the series that want these devices so he can control all the dimensions by trying to kill people that get in his way and whatever. Blah, blah, blah. Therefore, Marguerite (the main character) visits her many selves in different dimension to try to save herself and others. Of course, that means living many different lives she could have lived if she or others had made different choices. I'm really not going to go into detail about all this because I don't want to bore you, and also don't want to spoil anything if you want to read these books for yourself. But that is the gist of the story and pretty much all you need to know to understand my new story. But remember the firebird. It's important!

Anyway, I haven't had the time to write out the actual chapters yet, so be patient and I will get to them. I'm also working on finishing my other stories. I am very close to posting the next chapter for _A Light in the Dark_ so if you out there are in the middle of reading that story and waiting for the next part to come out, I'm almost there. Just give me a little time. 😉

 **So what is my story about then?**

After reading this series, I though it would be neat to incorporate it with _The Heroes of Olympus_. What if the Seven each had a turn to live in different dimensions where they live the lives of their other selves? What kind of world would they live in? What would change for them? It gave me great fun creating their new lives.

For Percy, will he accept that his friends aren't his friends anymore? Or will he find himself stuck in a world where he barely even knows himself?

What about Jason? Will the division between Greek and Roman still be there? Will he fight for Roman domination like his other self clearly does?

How about Annabeth? What if she wasn't a part of the Seven in a different world? Was it because her other self joined the Hunters of Artemis?

Stay tuned to find out what happens to each of the Seven's lives in different dimensions. Some lives may change drastically, some maybe not. Who knows? Follow the story to find out! 😉


	2. Marguerite Caine

**Hooray! The first chapter of my new story! I am literally soooooooo excited to share this one with you. It has been in the back of my mind for quite a while. Do you remember that this was one of the stories I had in my poll selection last year? I was silently hoping it was the one to be picked. Oh well. That's why I'm doing it now!  
**

 **I don't really know how each chapter will look like at the moment. I was thinking each chapter could be someone's experience in their other dimension at first, however, I have a feeling those chapters would end up VERY long. I guess I'll just end the chapter whenever I end it. ;)**

 **And... hahaha, I had to fix the title error in the introduction of the actual series I'm basing this story on.** ***blushes* So, technically, the series is called the _Firebird_ series, but the first book is also called _A Thousand Pieces of You._ So yeah. Oopth. _Ten Thousand Skies Above You_ is the _second_ book. *face palm* I get the order mixed up _aaaaalllll_ the time. It took me forever just to figure out which book was the first when I got them from the library. So... sorry for that mix up! XD**

 **SHOUT OUT!  
I will announce that I do not own any of the Percy Jackson characters or Firebird characters. Credits goes to Rick Riordan and Claudia Gray. I will not be announcing this statement anymore. Bye.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1  
**

 **MARGUERITE CAINE**

On the streets of Manhattan, Percy held Annabeth's hand in his own as he swung it to the pace of their walk. After weeks of training at Camp Half-Blood, he was glad to have the chance to get away and take his girlfriend out for a date. It had been a long enough time since their last one and he was starting to feel bad about it. Now that he had the opportunity to steal her away from all the commotion at camp, he was taking advantage of their free time to spoil his girl a bit. Somewhere around the corner was a new soda shoppe designed to look like it belonged in the 60s. Annabeth hadn't seen it yet, so he was very much pleased with himself for finding a new spot to spend some one-on-one time with her.

"Can you please tell me where we're going?" she begged him for the hundredth time. "You know I hate secrets."

"Sorry, wisegirl, but this has got to stay secret."

She hung her head back and groaned. "Every time, Percy. Every single time. Why do all our dates start with me not knowing anything?"

With a smile, he looked over at her hoping she was just as pleased with him as he was. "Annabeth, this is literally the only thing I can do with you that you don't already know everything about. For once, I'd like to know that I can do something my own girlfriend doesn't have to tell me how to do or spurt random facts about it."

"Excuse me, seaweed brain, but I can't help being smarter than you. If you don't like it, don't date me. I'm sure my mom would be quite happy about that."

"Maybe I won't," he offered with a challenging glance. She stared right back.

"Fine. Doesn't bother me one bit. Let's go back." As she turned and tried walking back the way they came, Percy pulled her back and laughed at her.

"Seriously, Annabeth. You'll like it."

She grumbled under her breath. "I better."

"Hey! The dates I take you on are always a lot of fun."

With a roll of her eyes with his annoying comment, she focused her attention before them. "Do you remember the day we were supposed to go the movie theater? You got expelled from school that day after setting the school on fire. That was one example of a date that went wrong."

"Okay, that isn't fair. We weren't even dating at that point."

"Another example," she went on, ignoring his statement, "is when you took me out for dinner that one time. The food wasn't fully cooked and I spent the rest of the night throwing up with food poisoning."

"That," he pointed out, "wasn't my fault. You're not very fun."

With a smirk, she bumped into him playfully. "I'm just bugging you, seaweed brain. I loved every one of the dates you took me on. Except the two I mentioned. Those really sucked."

"See? This one will be just as amazing as before."

She laughed at him. "Well, as long as there are no monsters wanting to kill us along the way, I'll rate this one a success."

"Good to know."

"Now, can I please have at least a hint about where we're going?"

He looked at her after moment in thought. "Nope. You'll have to wait and see."

Just then, as they were about to turn the corner, the two of them were suddenly bulldozed by a force strong enough to knock them both off their feet. It became clear soon after that the force was a person as a heavy weight fell on top of them. Blinking out stars, he felt the person pull away and rush up to their feet hurriedly, swearing under their breath. Then a girl's voice gasped. "Oh my gosh! I am _so_ sorry! Here, let me help you up!"

His vision now clear, he found himself staring up at a girl around his age with long, frizzy curls, offering both her hands to him and Annabeth. She wore a jean jacket over top a short white dress and a seriously heavy-looking necklace around her neck. With the size of the jewel in the middle, he could guess the thing was worth a fortune at the very least. Maybe that was what made the impact so powerful.

"Thanks," he blinked the last of the stars away and took her hand. Annabeth followed suit. "Do you always run around corners like that, or is that more of a hobby?"

"Percy," Annabeth scolded.

Taking in the two of them with a fast glance lasting no longer than two seconds, the girl quickly ran up to the corner of the building, her body pressed flat against it, and peered around the corner. Percy could see the relief wash over her when she let out a sigh. She looked back at them. "I'm so sorry. To answer your question, I don't run around corners like that, no. I was..." She studied them again as if something suddenly occurred to her. "Can I trust you?"

He and Annabeth looked at each other confused. "I don't know," Annabeth decided. "Depends on who you are."

"Seriously. It's important."

After a moment of careful thought, she nodded. "You can trust us," she said, though still a little cautious.

"Okay, okay," the girl uttered, holding up her hands as if trying to stop them from saying something more. She let out a nervous sigh. "I know we just met, but I think I may need your help."

"Um... sure," Percy shrugged. "What can we do for you?"

Seriously, she was full of nervous. After he asked, she glanced around at her surroundings again as if looking for something or someone. Her whole aura was starting to make him feel uneasy. "We can't talk here. Do you have a car or something? Somewhere we can talk where there aren't so many people around?"

Confused, he furrowed his brows and pointed down the street. "Uh, yeah. My car's just over there. Are you in some kind of trouble or something?"

Hesitation crossed her face like she was worried she went too far. "You said I could trust you. I guess I'm going to have to prove that you can trust me too." Reaching her hand out again, she offered it to him and Annabeth. "My name's Marguerite Caine. I know it's a lot to ask, but if you're willing to help me, this might be one hell of a ride."

* * *

Marguerite shut the backseat door of Percy's car and shuffled herself over so she was positioned between the driver and passenger seats. Leaning forward, she looked at the two of them with an expression that showed she meant business. "The reason I crashed into the two of you back there was because I was being chased by a few guys."

"You break the law or something?" Percy teased. Annabeth flicked him on the arm and he swatted her hand away.

"No. In fact, I kinda wish it was that easy." He didn't like the sound of that. "You see, I got myself into a bit of trouble. I don't actually belong here. I don't live here."

"So you ran away?" Annabeth asked. "Where are you from?"

"I mean, yes I live here, but... at the same time I don't... well, it doesn't matter," she waved her hand, leaving Percy and Annabeth more than confused. "What does is the fact that very bad men have been on the lookout for me and my friends because of something we have." Percy watched as she lifted the heavy necklace over her head. Resting the giant jeweled piece in her palm she explained further. "This necklace is a very special item. There are only two of them in the entire world and they know we have them."

"Please don't tell me you _stole_ those," Percy muttered. Annabeth seemed just as concerned of that possibility as she studied the peculiar necklace carefully. Thankfully nothing strange happened when she did.

"Don't worry. I didn't steal it... well, not from them at least," Marguerite added lightly. "It's my parents'."

Great. The one day he had free to take out his girlfriend on a date was the one day they ran into more trouble. You know, he was starting to get really tired of being a demigod.

Marguerite went on. "The people running after me have been chasing me and my boyfriend for a while now. I've had some pretty close calls, but I've managed to lose them for the moment. My boyfriend however..." her face darkened very suddenly. "He hasn't been so lucky."

Not liking where this was going, but also not sure what else to ask, Percy stared at the necklace. "What happened to him? And what's so important about that necklace? You know, other than the badass jewel in the middle."

Lifting an eyebrow, she said, "Nothing you need to know. At least at the moment. To answer your question about my boyfriend, he's been taken. Where? I don't know. I was in the middle of eavesdropping on the guys that took him but... you can see where that got me," she muttered motioning around her.

"What does this have to do with us?" Annabeth asked with suspicion.

"That's the part where we really have to trust each other."

Both Annabeth and him shared a look. They had absolutely no idea what was going on or what this girl wanted. Percy was even surprised he let a total stranger into his car in the first place. Part of him expected her to break out of a disguise to reveal a monster ready to kill them. Then he'd never hear the end of it. Annabeth would rate this date as one of the worst. At the same time though, Marguerite didn't seem like any mythical creature he had ever run into before. She looked and acted very mortal.

"I know it's a lot to ask," she added, seeing their expressions. "Really though, the favor I'm going to ask the two of you is small compared to what I'm needing to do."

Annabeth adjusted herself in the passengers seat. "What's the favor?"

Biting her lip with obvious thought, she suddenly stretched her arm out so that the necklace was nearly touching them. "Take it."

"Wait, what?"

"You just told us that men were chasing you because of this thing," Percy fought back. "And you want us to just take it?"

"I don't want you to keep it," she assured the two of them. "In fact, _please_ don't. It's the only thing I can use to get back home. I just need to find a safe place to hide it until I can get my boyfriend back. Trouble is, they know that I'm the one carrying it. Giving it to a couple of strangers isn't my first choice, but I can't risk leaving it in a hiding place without someone there to watch over it. If they ever find it... bad things would happen. _Very_ bad things."

"Nothing like being vague. Or putting us on the spot."

"Please," she begged. "I need you to do this. Will you help me or what?"

Gee. He didn't know. Help the girl with a group of enemies who had just apparently kidnapped her friend because of some chunky jewelry? Just another Monday for ya. "What do you think?" he asked his girlfriend. He could see the gears turning inside her head, pondering the question.

"If we do, how much danger does that put us in?" she questioned.

"Um..." Marguerite hesitated. "That I can't really say. Look, if you're not able or willing to take such a risk, I'll gladly ask someone else. I don't like getting other people involved, but at the same time, I don't really have much of a choice at this point."

Annabeth let out a heavy sigh. "No. Don't ask anyone else. We can handle it. You'd be surprised by how much we actually deal with."

A genuine smile grew on the girl's face, almost as if the pressure was pulled off her for a moment. "Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means. Now about hiding the thing. Do you know where you could stash it until I can take it again? Of course, I'd like to see first hand where you put it, so if I could tag along for a little while..."

Then silence. There was no possible way Percy would ever let the necklace into his mom's apartment. He didn't want to risk putting her or Paul in any danger. As for Annabeth, her dad didn't even live in New York. There wasn't any safe place to keep the thing hidden where other mortals couldn't get at it.

Oh, wait a minute. There might be one place...

Percy shrugged. "There's camp."

" _Camp?_ " Annabeth asked as if that was one of the worst suggestions he could give. "Percy, we can't take her to camp! She's not -" she stopped herself short before trying again, this time mouthing it. "She's a _mortal_. We can't get her over camp boarders! And what about the danger the necklace could bring to everyone?"

"Annabeth, no one will be able to find camp," he whispered back.

"Yes, but -"

"Do you have any other ideas? I'm sure Chiron will allow her in just for a short while."

"But what about the kind of camp it is? Not everything can hide through the mist."

"That's why we cover for what she can see. There aren't that many things she would question if we tell her it's all a re-enactment."

"Percy..."

He felt Marguerite's eyes on them as she waited patiently for an answer. Mulling it over in her mind for a few more seconds, Annabeth sat back and ran a hand through her hair, muttering something to herself. It sounded like something to do with him getting his way again. Then she sighed. "So much for our date. Take us to camp."

"Great," Marguerite said. "Now how far away is this camp of yours? I'll need to be able to find it again, possibly the quicker the better."

From the corner of his eye, Percy saw Annabeth shaking her head in disagreement with their decision. "Just a short drive. Don't worry about it." He started his car and everyone buckled up. "Your necklace will be in good hands."

* * *

And so now, they were just pulling up to Camp Half-Blood. The parking lot where the strawberry farm vans were was hidden deep in the trees to keep from people stopping by to check the area out. Therefore, Percy had to drive through a long, narrow, off-road trail to where he was able to park beside one of the vans. Throughout the ride, they had made conversation to their new friend, asking her questions to maybe get to know her better. Unfortunately, most of the answers were just as vague as she had been earlier or not applicable at all. The further into conversation they were, Annabeth's face grew more perplexed by the minute. At this point, she just about had a full-out pout on her face. Even to him though, things weren't adding up. This girl was hiding something bigger than the people she and her friends were running from. Something much bigger. He was almost afraid to ask her what it was.

"Here we are," he declared, putting the car in park. "Now, uh, little warning, you might not be able to enter camp for the first little bit. Don't worry. Annabeth will get someone who will let you in."

"Me? Really?" Annabeth raised her eyebrow.

"I drove."

"Why can't I enter with the two of you?" Marguerite asked. "Are no visitors allowed or something?"

"It's not that," Annabeth stated. "It's simply... er... well, kinda. But not that you aren't welcome. We just don't get visitors that often, that's all."

"Oh," she muttered with puzzlement. "Okay."

"Really, it's no big deal," Percy assured her. "The people at camp are all pretty friendly. Except Clarisse La Rue. Stay clear of her."

"Who?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes at him. "Percy, stop it. You aren't helping." Turning back to the confused girl sitting in the back seat, she reassured her. "You don't have to worry about anything. However, you might have to prepare yourself for what we do here. Our entire camp is actually based on the Ancient Greeks. So you'll see people re-enacting sword fights and stuff like that."

Marguerite perked up a bit. "Oh! Just like that camp I used to go to as a kid. It was themed Kings and Castles. People dressed up in suits of armor and carried fake swords around everywhere. Sure. That sounds like fun."

"Uh... yeah. Just like that. Maybe a little different though in some areas." She turned back to Percy with an expression that told him that if anything went wrong, it was on his shoulders. "Let's get this over with." She then unbuckled and got out of the vehicle. Percy and Marguerite did the same and began following the daughter of Athena up the steep trail to camp's gate entrance. This time they traveled in silence, everyone to their own thoughts. He was sure Annabeth's mind was going crazy because his was.

Marguerite suddenly tripped on a tree root and quickly grabbed onto his arm for balance.

"Gosh. Do you always make this trek each time you come here? There has to be an easier way to your camp."

"Not really, no," he said. "It's a pretty secluded camp so we don't like taking the chance that random people might wander in or something."

"Who would there be all the way out _here_?" Not even bothering to answer her question, he trekked on and tried to compose what they were going to tell Chiron.

Annabeth had a point, he realized. They had no idea how much danger they were possibly putting the camp in by bringing this girl with them. If the people chasing her and her boyfriend wanted this necklace so bad - even to the point of _kidnapping_ \- it was almost certain that what Marguerite had in her possession was costly enough to kill for. And now he and Annabeth were going to take if off her hands and hide it somewhere in their camp. He just hoped they were regular mortals and not monsters. However, if that be the case, at least they knew how to fight if it came to that. All the same though, he was hoping that these guys were actually just mortals. Then they wouldn't be able to get into camp even if they did find it.

Walking on, they managed to reach the gate, signalling the boarder of camp. Thalia's pine tree stood tall with the golden fleece wrapped around its base, strengthening Camp Half-Blood's magic. And, of course, Camp Half-Blood's sign was engraved on the top of the wooden gateway over top two lit torches. All this was normal for him and Annabeth, a regular sight to see, however he noticed Marguerite stare up at the Camp Half-Blood sign with interest.

"So what does 'Half-Blood' mean exactly?" she asked with her eyes still glued to the sign. "Is it something to do with the theme of your camp or should I be scared right now?"

"It's just the theme," Annabeth was quick to answer. "You don't have to worry at all. Just don't wander around on your own."

"Sure. I can do that," and she began walking towards the gate. Shortly after, before Marguerite could step foot on the other side, she was suddenly stopped in her tacks as a force held her back, leaving her standing there fighting with the air. She tried again until, with confusion and slight fear, she stepped back staring at the gate. "Uh, what the hell?"

Annabeth glanced at Percy with an expression that meant something was just confirmed. "Wait here," she told the two of them, not even bothering to give a reason why Marguerite couldn't pass. She and Percy simply watched as Annabeth crossed into camp easily and without any problem. He could tell by the way of her walk that she was still pissed at him. Nothing new.

"So... " Marguerite murmured hesitantly after a while. "That was weird. Why was she able to cross over and I wasn't?"

"Uh... security system," he decided because, technically, it was.

"Security...?" She scrunched her nose. "I don't know what kind of system you use, but I'll tell you right now that my parent's and sister would be _all_ over how you managed it." She paused for a moment. "Man, you guys really are secluded, aren't you?"

Looking at her expression, he scratched his head and pulled his attention off her. She was probably just as confused about them as they were about her. "It's complicated," he explained lightly.

"How long do you think this will take?" she said after a few seconds, trying to change the topic.

"Will what take?"

Shrugging and motioning to the camp she said, "I don't know. Whatever she's doing? Oh, and I guess I never got your names."

"Oh." With a friendly smile he then offered his hand. "Percy Jackson."

"Nice to meet you," she said shaking his hand.

"My girlfriend's name is Annabeth Chase. And she shouldn't take too long. She just needs to ask permission for your admittance from our camp director."

"That's good. The quicker the better. I need to get back to Manhattan as fast as possible. I'm not sure where my boyfriend is being kept and would like if I could rescue him sooner than later."

That struck him as odd. "Didn't you contact the police? I mean, that's their job, isn't it? The guy got _kidnapped_."

Marguerite shook her head. "I can't because that's what they would expect. I don't wanna risk..." She stopped herself. "No. The police would only make things worse. I have to do it on my own."

"Are you sure? This all sounds kind of dangerous."

She laughed weakly at that. "You have _no_ idea."

 _I'd like to bet that I do, actually..._ he thought to himself. "And you're doing this on your own?"

"Doesn't matter. Once I rescue him, we'll both be together to stop the man in charge. I'm not really alone. My family and friends can offer backup if things get worse."

Not exactly sure what "backup" or "man in charge" meant, he didn't push for an answer anyway. Hopefully he wouldn't have to worry about this much longer. Marguerite didn't want to take very long with this rescue, so that hopefully meant that they wouldn't have this necklace in their possession for more time than necessary. What Chiron thought about all this was starting to make him wonder though. He hadn't the slightest clue what he was going to think. Would he actually let Marguerite's necklace enter camp? Would she even have his permission to take foot across the boarder?

For now, the two of them had to wait to find out.

* * *

"And you brought her here?" Chiron asked with a raised eyebrow, his elbow resting on the chess table he was sitting at. Annabeth had found him playing a game with one of the satyrs on the porch of the Big House.

"Yes, granted it was Percy's idea. She sounds genuine enough, I guess. I don't like the idea of bringing a total stranger into our camp, even if it is just for a moment or two, but if she is in the amount of trouble she's in..."

"Then she could potentially bring trouble here," he finished her sentence. "Did she tell you who or what was chasing her?"

Annabeth crossed her arms and leaned against the railing of the porch. "Not really. All she said was that there were a few guys. She's not a demigod though. She already tried crossing the boarder but I purposely didn't stop her. I don't think we need to worry about monsters."

He nodded thoughtfully, mulling over what she just informed him with. After a while, putting the chess pieces away, he then rolled his wheelchair away from the table and made his way over to the ramp leading off the porch. "I don't know who this person is, but I feel once I meet her, I'll have a better way of determining whether or not she will be allowed to enter. If not, you and Percy are to direct her elsewhere, understand?"

Following him off the porch and onto the dirt path directed to camp's entrance, she nodded and began pushing his wheelchair like a regular mortal would. "I understand."

"I don't want to risk endangering our camp. A mortal could have easily mistaken such a necklace to be a regular piece of jewelry. If it is, by chance, an item with ancient magic, I don't want it entering a single foot into Camp Half-Blood."

"How will you know if it has ancient magic?"

"I'll know it when I see it," he muttered. "I've come across many things during my life that have deceived the eye of its magic, but I have learned to see past such things."

"You think there is a possibility that this necklace Marguerite has could be one of them," Annabeth said as more of a statement than a question.

"If she said there were only two in the entire world, there is a high risk."

Now just entering the woods where camp's entrance stood, Annabeth could see the hill start to decline, though at a more subtle descent. Only after they crossed the gate would the hill steepen, so Chiron was still safe in his wheelchair without turning into his centaur form.

"Marguerite said that she stole them from her parents," she suddenly remembered. "Unless her parents work in a history museum, how would they have any connection to ancient items like that?"

"A quick questioning won't do any harm."

Eventually, they found Percy and Marguerite standing where she'd left them. They looked like they'd been in the middle of a conversation before spotting them appear through the trees. Marguerite still had a confused expression, probably from what the two of them had been talking about. As soon as she spotted Annabeth pushing Chiron in his wheelchair though, she straightened and swallowed nervously as if she didn't really know what to say.

"Uh, hi," she shyly waved.

Chiron nodded at her and took a moment to study her. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. My name is Mr. Brunner and you must be Marguerite. I do hope not to sound inhospitable when I say this, but I have reason to believe Annabeth and Percy had told you about the conditions for visitors already," he smiled in a friendly manner.

"Yes, they have," Marguerite answered. "Sort of." Her face scrunched up. "In truth I'm still confused about it, but that doesn't matter. Mr. Brunner, I know I'm kind of intruding on you guys and I apologize about that, but I had told my friends here that I had a small favor to ask of them." That was her cue to take her necklace off and show off the jewel just as she had for the both of them.

Annabeth made sure to study Chiron's expression as he looked at it for any recognition.

"A group of bad men are after me because of this necklace. It's incredibly valuable and there is only one other just like this. There is a single man who is fighting for these necklaces and if he gets his hands on them, bad things could happen, and not just the kind where he robs stores and gets rich. I'd go into more detail, but we don't have time for that. So, obviously, I've been trying very hard for a while now to keep them from him and his followers. I had asked if it was possible to hide it in your camp for a short time so I could help my friend. He's been kidnapped. I would come back for it as quickly as I can so you wouldn't have to worry about it for long. This is the only thing I have that can get me back to where I belong so I _will_ need it back."

With a slightly raised eyebrow, he waited for her to continue.

"I truly apologize for putting you all on the spot like this, but it's important. I..." she sighed like she was desperate. "You guys are my last hope. So..." she looked at Chiron as if trying to read his mind. "Do you think you would be willing to help me out? Just for a little while at least? All you have to do is hide it."

Chrion stared at the necklace in her hands with a face so twisted in concentration that Annabeth thought he had zoned out completely. However, she watched him slowly shake his head. Marguerite frowned. "I do not recognize this item," he murmured under his breath.

Marguerite looked a little surprised. "I just... I just told you... Um, this is one of my parents' inventions. They make... jewelry. There aren't anything like the two of these in the world."

His gaze lifted to her face. "Your parents made this?"

"Yes..." She was starting to feel uneasy, Annabeth could tell.

"What is it your parents do for a living then?" he asked lightly but with purpose. Annabeth herself had questions she wanted to ask this new girl like where she really came from, and how she got into trouble as deep as she was in, in the first place.

"They're scientists," Marguerite answered as if she didn't really want to share that bit of information. "The both of them. Sometimes to pass time, my mother would make jewelry. This just happens to be a prized piece."

"That's quite the piece of jewelry."

"It is."

He started fingering his beard the way he always did when he was trying to put pieces together. "Do you mind telling me where you're from? What kind of scientists are your parents? What do they do?"

She opened her mouth to answer but stopped almost immediately as if she was about to say something she wasn't supposed to. Instead, she tried again, though she didn't sound as certain of herself. "Manhattan. I live in Manhattan with my parents. They like working on, uh, machines and learning about... space. Really, I've never really been into all that so I can't really tell you. I prefer painting."

"I see." They shared a moment of silence as he thought, looking once more at the necklace in her hands. He seemed as though he was trying to find a reason why he couldn't let her leave it there with them. Really though, it looked like a regular chunky piece of jewelry. "Is there any way these men can track the necklace here?" he asked.

"No..." she sounded hesitant. "No you're fine. They can't track you here."

There was still suspicion in him from what Annabeth could tell, but knowing that they couldn't track the necklace to their camp was good news. Thankfully their camp was harder to get to anyway.

Finally he sighed. "Very well. You may leave your necklace here. However, I will have you know, given the policy we have here, that visitors may not enter. You can fully trust us to keep your necklace safe for you," he smiled with an assuring nod. "When you wish to retrieve it again, you may phone our camp and Percy and Annabeth will send it down to you in a set place in the city. Does that sound like it would work for you?"

"Yes, of course. Thank you so much," and she handed him the necklace, but not too eagerly. "What number could I reach you at?"

Surprisingly, Annabeth actually found a piece of paper and a pen in her bag Chrion could use to write down the camp's number. Marguerite pocketed the piece of paper in her jean jacket and smiled. "Thanks again. I don't think it should take too long, but whatever you guys do," her face suddenly took on a more serious expression. "Please don't play around with it. It's incredibly delicate."

"We understand. It will be in good hands," Chiron assured. "Percy, Annabeth, I believe she will need a ride back into Manhattan. We will talk again, Marguerite Caine," he smiled friendly at her. "It was a pleasure meeting you."

"You too," she smiled back and then faced Percy and Annabeth. "And thanks for the ride, you two. I feel like I'm seriously taking advantage here."

"It's no problem," Percy said. "Now, let's get you back to the city. Your boyfriend's probably waiting for you."

She sighed and straightened again as if trying to stay strong. "Right. Let's go."

As she began heading back down the trail towards Percy's car, Annabeth stared at him and shook her head. "This is one of those dates, Percy. This is one of those dates."

* * *

 **There you are folks! How did you like the first chapter? I apologize if Annabeth and/or Percy seemed OOC. It's always so hard for me to start a story and keep the characters acting like themselves in the first chapter. Am I the only person who struggles with that? Do others understand my struggles? Let me know in the reviews. ;P  
**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading and look out for chapter 2!**


	3. A World of Its Own

**Chapter 2 is here! It took a long time to get finished. Sorry. I'm VERY busy these days.  
**

 **But, guys, my excitement about this story is through the roof! I can't wait to share! AND I FINALLY HAVE MY OWN COMPUTER NOW! YES!**

 **Reviews:**

DDaughterofAthena: **Thank you very much. :) And you should check the series out! I haven't read those books in a while so I apologize if things aren't matching up completely. Anyway, about your comment about crossovers... I was wanting to post it as a crossover story, however, this website doesn't have the _Firebird_ trilogy on here. They want both series mentioned so it's not an option. :( If it was, I would have ****posted** **this with the crossovers option checked off. *sigh***

 **Anyway, on with the story! What will happen next?**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2**

 **A WORLD OF IT'S OWN**

Percy was alone in the Poseidon cabin. Tyson was off somewhere in Dad's underwater palace doing who knows what, so it was as silent as it could be with only the gentle ocean waves crashing through the night from the beach in the background. It was a calming white noise to fall asleep to, and being the child of the god of the sea, a person could only expect him to enjoy it anyway. He purposely kept his window open a crack for that reason alone, except for cold nights in the cooler seasons. He'd had it open the one autumn night and woke up to a frost-covered room. It wasn't the best morning. Tonight, however, was warm, and he had his window open for the purpose of nature's lullaby. So, having both an empty cabin and a peaceful night, one would think there was absolutely nothing that should be keeping him awake right now. One would usually be right if there hadn't been a strange mortal with a seemingly dangerous item she was trying to hide in their camp which could potentially attract all the wrong things. Was he the only one not sleeping because of her? Maybe bringing the necklace to Camp Half-Blood wasn't a good idea after all. They didn't know the person who gave it to them in the first place. All they knew was that her name was Marguerite Caine, she lived in Manhattan, NY - though she didn't even seem convinced of it herself - and that her parents are scientists. Anything else they asked her about, she somehow avoided the questions by asking her own. Despite how nice he convinced himself that she was, those facts are enough to make anyone suspicious. Is Marguerite Caine even her real name?

Tossing over onto his side, Percy pulled the blanket over his shoulder and stared into the blackness of the room in thought. Chiron had taken the necklace away immediately without saying where he was going to hide it. That obviously indicates that Chiron himself is suspicious of the whole thing. On the other hand though, he still agreed to bring it into camp. Why? Was it because he didn't think the necklace was that dangerous? Or did he just want to have a closer look at the thing? The jewel in the middle _was_ pretty badass. And the fact that there were only two of these necklaces in existence? However, even though the thing looked stupid expensive, Marguerite's boyfriend got kidnapped because of it. What was he supposed to think of that? No piece of jewelry is precious enough for someone to do something so serious without a backstory of some kind. If a robber doesn't get what he wants the first night, chances are he'd move on, not wanting to try his luck. He wouldn't _kidnap_ someone because of it... right?

All the same, the whole necklace situation kept him up wondering. And the longer he laid there, the more curious he became. Dare he say he was even reaching the point where he was tempted to get up and search for the thing. He knew there was something Marguerite was hiding and he wanted to know what, not only for the sake of his curiosity, but for the safety of the camp. However... after learning that Marguerite was a mortal, wouldn't the necklace just be a necklace?

Confused by all these thoughts speeding through his mind, he decided to just let it go. Maybe it wasn't anything. Maybe it really was just a piece of jewelry. And in that case, he shouldn't be lying awake wondering about the stupid thing. The next few days were expected to be a lot of commotion for camp. All of Camp Half-Blood and a few member of the Roman Legion were coming together to celebrate the one year anniversary of both the defeat of Gaea, and the remembrance of all those who died during that battle... which was slightly weird in Leo's case. Percy wasn't really sure how to feel about that... you know, with him dying that day only for him to come back to life. Guess it would be a great opportunity to remember how angry everyone was about that so they could take it out on him. Poor Leo had it coming.

After a few more hours with tomorrow, and that dumb necklace, on his mind, he found himself waking to the morning sun shining through his slightly ajar window. Somehow, during the night, he'd fallen asleep and was now being woken up to the sound of campers arguing directly on the other side of his door it seemed. He groaned and begrudgingly forced himself to sit up. Whoever it was screaming at each other was going to experience the wrath of Percy Jackson, the deadly tired demigod if the yelling didn't stop.

Swapping his pajamas for proper day-time clothes, he opened the door to find most of the camp already up and about. Some were already decorating with banners and balloons while others, like the two he had heard yelling, fought about how to decorate for the party, leaving everyone else doing all the work.

Passing by groups of squabbling campers, he gradually made it to the dining pavilion where he found Annabeth sitting on her own eating a plate of waffles. Due to the preparations being made for today, there was next to no one eating breakfast anymore.

He grabbed himself a plate of blue waffles and slid in next to her on the bench, not caring if he was breaking rules, which he was. She raised an eyebrow at him while he stuffed the first bite into his mouth. "You've been thinking about Marguerite," she announced.

He froze and set his fork back down. Daring to look at her, he muttered with a full mouth, "I don't really know how to answer that without you despising me."

"It's fine because I've been thinking about her too. Chiron hid that stupid necklace from us and won't tell me where it is."

"You've been curious to look at it too?"

"Well obviously," she said looking at him like he should have known that already, and he should have. "There's more to it that meets the eye. Didn't you see the way Chiron looked at it?"

Percy took a moment to think. "He seemed like he was unsure of how to feel."

"Which is all the more reason to be concerned."

He shifted to his side in thought, looking at her quizzically. "How did you know I was thinking about Marguerite?"

Smirking, she reached up and ruffled his hair. "Anyone with that hair hasn't been sleeping very well."

Now feeling semi self-conscious, Percy tried smoothing it down while glancing around to see if anyone else was laughing at him. "To be fair, I wasn't only thinking about her. These next few days have been kinda difficult to forget about. It's hard to believe it's been a whole year already."

"Let's hope there won't be any repeats. If anything else happens, someone else can take my spot. I'm done with prophecies."

"That goes for both of us," he muttered after taking a sip of his orange juice. "Man, if that necklace is the start of a new one, that would royally- "

"Don't...!" she stopped him with her hand, "... Jinx it."

Raising an eyebrow, he shut up and took another bite. "How long do you think she'll take? You know, to save her boyfriend."

"I can only say that I'd like to know." She raked her fork through the syrup like one of those mini Japanese rock gardens. "The sooner she rescues him, the faster we get the necklace off our hands. And the faster we get the necklace off our hands, the better our nights will be."

He knit his eyebrows. "Our nights?" He watched her gaze lift back to his hair. "Oh, right. Because we aren't sleeping."

"Yeah," Annabeth murmured with a small eye-roll, though there was a hidden smirk in there somewhere.

"You maybe think we should've offered to help her? She seemed to be holding a lot on her shoulders."

"Aren't we helping her already by hiding the necklace?"

"Well, yeah, but the whole issue with her boyfriend being kidnapped... that seems like a big job to take care of when you're a mortal. And she even mentioned that asking help from the police would only make it worse."

She sighed and then took a bite. "I don't know, but if she didn't ask for any more help than what we're already giving her, then I'd assume she had it under control."

"Annabeth!" a girl's voice called from behind them. "Can you help us set this up? Seb's doing it all wrong. I could probably put money down that he'll break it."

The two of them turned around to see Brook standing at the entrance of the Dining Pavilion. Beside her, Sebastian was struggling to put together a statue of one of the Greek gods - which was mandatory by rule of the gods with the declaration that their statues be displayed throughout camp during all special festivities. Even from here, Percy could hear him cussing when it wouldn't stand up straight.

"I'll be right back," Annabeth groaned. "Seb's making a mess of Demeter."

Percy laughed. "Don't worry. I'm planning on training in the battle arena right away anyway. And make sure he doesn't mess Poseidon up," he shouted as he watched her leave the Dining Pavilion. "I don't want people thinking I'm the son of a discombobulated god!"

She smiled over her shoulder. "Discombobulated. I taught you that word, didn't I?"

"No you didn't," he lied. "I learned that on my own while... reading..."

"Nice try, seaweed brain!"

For the rest of breakfast, Percy sat pouting as he watched his girlfriend help Brook and Seb. He could learn big words without her. He could probably even sort of figure how to help with the statue of Demeter. Maybe. Sometimes Annabeth didn't give him enough credit. Well, he understood why she didn't, but there were first times for everything. For him, it just might take a few million tries.

Apparently Sebastian really did something to mess up Demeter's statue because Annabeth was still trying to sort out the imbalance issue when Percy was off for the battle arena. Passing by the amusing group, he gave Annabeth a funny look that questioned how Seb put something together so poorly. In response, she shrugged and tried to hide a smile by pretending to scratch an itch on her top lip. He laughed when he saw the guy wipe beads of sweat off his forehead in the heat of the sun. For something that seemed so simple, he truly made it out to be more of a chore than anyone expected, or wanted. Seb was no son of Hephaestus.

Collecting armor on his way, Percy reached the front doors to the battle arena where he stopped at the bleachers to set his helmet down and readjust his chest plate. Because of all the commotion happening with decorating for the next few days, there were very few demigods with training in mind. Naturally, most of those who were training were the children of Ares (no surprise there), however, even they didn't all show up. It was rather nice actually, not having a crowded arena. It didn't happen all the time, but when it did, Percy took advantage of it. An empty arena meant no one was using the holographic army machine the Hephaestus kids made for training. He wasn't sure how they created such a machine, but it surprisingly helped him become more aware of the people around him while in a full-on battle. The difficulty settings offer _Beginner_ all the way up to _Mega_ _Demigod Beast_ , but to be fair, the multiple settings in between were - even in his experience - quite challenging. He and Clarisse had an on-going competition to see how long they could survive on the hardest level without being holographicly cut in half. Admittedly, Percy wasn't winning, but he was getting there.

Seeing how no one was using it, he placed his helmet over his head and pulled the holographic machine out of its hiding place so it was sitting in his corner. Hopping on the spot to warm up, he then pressed ON and proceeded to select his preferred difficulty setting.

"Alright," he muttered to himself after choosing the _Advanced-Son-of-a-God_ mode. "Show me what you got."

Coming to life, the machine counted down. " _Three... Two... One..._ _Go_!" Immediately, several holographic Greeks appeared in full body armor and scrunched faces, holding their swords ready to attack. Percy didn't quite understand why the Hephaestus kids made them look so angry, but if it was to encourage the battle spirit, he would give them credit for how well it worked.

As the first one dashed forward, he sidestepped and "clashed" swords with him. Seeing how they were holograms, they couldn't physically come into contact with anything, but they were programmed to sense the fighter's movements, and most importantly, the position of their swords. After sensing Percy's block, the angry Greek jumped back and scowled at him. Others behind him began to close in as back up. Seeing that, Percy only smirked. He was gonna kick ass.

Forcing his opponent back, he jumped forward after a few more sword clashes, avoided his opponent's attack with a somersalt, and slashed his ankles, causing the Greek to fall to the ground and flicker out of existence. That signaled the rest of the army to charge forward.

Percy slashed through and fended off a few more advanced holographic Greeks all the while dodging their counter-attacks. It felt good to be in full-combat mode without the fear of actually dying or having his world completely destroyed if he dare fail. He could actually enjoy what he was doing in the moment and zone everything else out. This was one of the ways he was able to realize what he needed work on, or work out certain problems on his mind.

An hour or two passed. He wasn't exactly aware of how long he was fighting for, but he was worked up enough to call it quits and hit the showers. Finishing the last two Greeks, he sliced one in half, and slammed the butt of his sword into the other's forehead and watched both holograms flutter and then disappear.

"Ouch," a voice said from behind him.

Startled, Percy turned around and smiled widely. "Reyna! You guys made it!" He jogged over and gave her a big hug. "When did you get here? You came in good timing."

She stepped back and brushed her hair out of her face. "We wanted to make sure we didn't get here too late, but if it had been just me, I would have preferred coming sooner. Because it is _not_ only me however, we took a bit more time. More of us came than what we had intended. Now we have to find a place for everyone to sleep."

"We got room," he assured. "The Hera and Zeus cabins aren't really being used anyway. How was the trip?"

"Tiring. Thankfully, Chiron has agreed to let us settle down before starting any activities. I've talked with him already."

Percy took his helmet off and began pushing the holographic machine back in it's corner. "Yeah, we all kind of figured the group would be tired. Honestly, I'm glad we've planned it to be a multi-day celebration myself. Part of it will be to celebrate the defeat of Gaea, and the other a memorial and day of respect for the fallen. We thought it would have been a bit disrespectful to have the celebration on the same day we do the memorial."

"That's fair. When will the memorial be?"

"The day after tomorrow." He began walking back to the centre of camp so Reyna followed. "Did Chiron say anything to you about what we will be doing tonight?"

"Not really," she answered, keeping her pace matched with his own. "Only that it wouldn't be as exciting as tomorrow."

Up ahead, Percy could see Sebastian and Annabeth working on the last of the statues, this one being Hypnos. The fact that it had taken them all morning was almost amusing. This time though, Frank and Hazel were with them, talking and catching up with each other. Percy smiled and waved at them from where he was. "Well, I don't exactly know what's being planned for tomorrow, but I do know we're having a party tonight. Sit around and mingle... maybe play a few party games... Stuff like that."

"That sounds fine. Nothing too exhausting."

"We did kind of figure you would all be tired from your trip anyway."

There was silence for a moment, Reyna's face twisting in thought. "Coming in I noticed the Athena Parthenos still sitting on the hill."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What, you thought it would get up and walk away? I know it's got its own spookiness about it, but -"

Reyna gave him a weird face. "No. I meant that it not only radiates power, but her statue is, and probably always will be, a permanent symbol of what we've faced to get here, both the good and the bad. The way we Romans fought against you, then became allies... How that terrifying prophecy forced seven demigods to risk their lives to save our entire world, and succeeded... Having such a monumental item in your camp must be pretty powerful to live beside each day."

"Yeah," he said looking at his feet. "It doesn't always give good memories though." Then he looked up at her with curiosity. "Don't you have something like that at Camp Jupiter?"

She shook her head. "Not like that, and especially nothing so recent. If your talking about the scars of our battle we had at Camp Jupiter though, than I suppose, but even that is different." She stopped and studied the scene around them: the volleyball court, the Dining Pavilion, the Big House, campers laughing and finishing up their decorations. Taking it in, she let a small smile spread across her face. "For as much as we've had to go through, Percy, I feel like we are living a new chapter. I don't know if it's the start of something bigger, or one that won't change drastically, but whatever it is, I feel that we're entering into a _better_ chapter, one where we'll finally find peace."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Fighting against an enemy that powerful, and winning, seems like a war that will settle numerous things for a generous amount of time. This was the goddess of the Earth. Finding a way to put her back in her slumber is a pretty huge deal. Most of her major monsters have been banished to Tartarus and will most likely take a long while to enter the mortal world again. If that's the case, there wouldn't be any need to be sent off on any further adventures."

Percy truly hoped what she said was true. After everything, they needed a break. The stress with Marguerite and her necklace was distracting him from the possibility that there really could be peace in the future, even if it's only a small taste of it. As long as there are monsters, there will always be wars, battles at the least, but maybe this time there really _would_ be more time to settle before they come their way. Both he and Annabeth had been accepted to separate colleges in the fall, which was going to be different experiences for the two of them. More than anything, he wanted to be able to get through as much schooling as he could, not that he was crazy about school, which he wasn't, but merely to have the chance to feel like a normal mortal again doing normal mortal things. Of course, leaving Annabeth would be difficult, but there were ways to get over it. He didn't want to have to worry about another prophecy popping up out of nowhere. Again.

"After the enormous size of that quest, I would hope you're right," he replied with a sigh. "I don't think anyone would be ready for anything else."

"I don't either."

"Speaking of peaceful times," he suddenly said, "how's Hylla and her Amazons doing?"

"Good, I suppose. I saw her a short while ago actually. She and the girls are busy with their packages, but she made time to sit and chat with that Iris messaging system you Greeks use. Now that she is back in power, Hylla has tried to make more of an effort to check up on me and my camp. She's even visited a few times which was something she wasn't able to do so easily before."

"That's good."

"I suppose."

He looked at her again. "No, seriously. That's great. I think you and your sister need time to catch up. You've been apart for a long time and been through some hard things."

"We were able to survive apart before," she countered in a tone showing she was uncomfortable.

"Yeah, but you guys deserve a chance to catch up and spend time together."

Shrugging, she changed the topic, probably feeling like things were getting too personal for her liking. "Do you think Chiron would be opposed if we break for lunch? None of my group has had anything since early this morning."

Getting the hint, he nodded with a smile as the Dining Pavilion came into view. "He wouldn't mind at all," he assured her. "It's almost past lunch anyway. Come on."

* * *

Space around the campfire was scarce with the additional crowd joining in that night. They gave up sitting in groups according to godly parents due to the lot of them and to avoid awkwardness or discomfort in whatever form, mainly for the Roman campers. Again, that gave Percy the excuse to sit beside Annabeth and the others he hadn't talked to in a good while. Much to his surprise, Reyna spent the most time visiting with Nico because for some odd reason they actually got along really well. He never understood why, but it was nice to see one-on-one interaction between the two. It still felt a little weird knowing that Octavian was no longer a threat and one to avoid talking to while a group from Camp Jupiter were here as guests. Don't take that the wrong way though, because Percy wasn't hoping he would have been there anyway, even if the way he went was unfortunate.

As with tradition, Chiron had made a special welcome to the Roman Legion members visiting at the early part of the evening, just as they were settling down for the campfire and evening fun. Platters of finger foods and a variety of drinks were handed out and everyone helped themselves. Plates were piling high with servings of pigs in blankets, cheese and crackers, granola cookies, mini muffins, veggies, and so on. Songs were sung and laughter rang out throughout the ring of campers. Nyssa even directed a few party games she had put together for the night that didn't involve moving around. There were too many people for that. However, the games were simple and easy, and actually a lot of fun.

With the night growing older, the warmth of the day went with it. A small breeze started to pick up and campers were beginning to zip up their light jackets or clinging a little tighter to their blankets despite the warmth from the campfire. Beside him, Percy noticed Annabeth didn't have either of those. Goosebumps run up her arms with every breath of the night. Her hands rubbed them to create some kind of warmth from the friction. He would have offered her his own jacket, however he didn't have one either.

"Did you want me to grab you a sweater or something? You look cold," he asked leaning in to her ear. She pulled away from her conversation with Hazel to look at him.

"Oh, sure, actually. If you don't mind," she smiled thankfully. "I left it at the Big House when I was talking with Chiron yesterday. Thanks."

"No problem."

"It might be on the deck, but if it isn't try his office or something."

"I'll find it," he assured her as he hopped up and began climbing down. "Save my seat, will ya?"

In response, she twisted to her side and stretched her legs over the spot he was sitting. She then continued her conversation with Hazel in an awkward position, but it didn't seem to matter to her too much.

Percy trudged through the dark fields towards the Big House. As he neared he could already tell that her sweatshirt wasn't hanging on any part of the railing. The light-reflective zipper and lining would have been visible from a good distance away. Therefore, it was somewhere inside. He wasn't with Annabeth when she had gone to speak with Chiron about Marguerite so he didn't know where she would have been.

He walked through the front door and immediately thought to look in the lost and found box in the main living area. Chiron was always quick to stick items campers left behind in there. Digging through the items, however, made it clear that it wasn't there either. Percy remembered that she said to check his office. That seemed like a logical place for her to have talked with Chiron. Knowing that, he entered through the office door and began his search. Under chairs, under the desk, behind the door, still no sweater. Eventually though, Percy spotted the grey material tucked beside the tall bookshelf just behind Chiron's desk. He bent down and picked it up, double-checking the tag to make sure it was hers. Seeing the brand he was expecting to see, he hung it over his arm and took a few steps towards the door again to leave.

A sudden small glint of light from his left made him stop short. Turning his gaze to the bookshelf, he squinted his eyes and came closer. The light was being reflected off of something hidden in the books and he wasn't sure what. As he neared, a thin golden chain became visible when he stared in between two of the thicker books. He pushed them apart to take a closer look. What he found made him raise his eyebrow with both surprise and excitement. After that restless night wondering if he would ever get a chance to take a closer look at it, he now had the opportunity to learn more about this necklace after all.

Percy reached his hand in and retrieved Marguerite's precious necklace. Holding it, he immediately noticed how heavy it was. If the weight was purely the jewel, the thing hidden inside must have been much bigger than he'd originally thought. Despite the red jewel though, the necklace's design made it seem like there had been a great effort in creating it. Was it pure gold? Was that the reason it was so heavy? Either way, he could understand a little better why someone wanted it so badly. The design imprinted on it was delicate as if everything done to it had been greatly thought out. It was obvious that whoever made this cared very much about every single detail.

Turning it over in his hands, he traced his finger over the intricate work. He wasn't sure if he was simply seeing things, but the thing almost seemed to be put together in pieces. Once again, it showed that the creator had great care where every piece was placed, where every feature was molded. A large cost probably came with the thing. It was rather shocking how fine some of the carvings were on it. In curiosity, Percy brushed the tip of his finger over the front side, just to the right of the jewel. Percy froze and began to panic when he felt a piece slide out of place as he traced his finger over it. Immediately a _tick, tick, tick_ came from inside. When the ticking stopped and nothing seemed broken, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, that could have been bad," he muttered to himself after a couple seconds went by.

Just as he finished forming that sentence, the jewel began to shine a bright red, illuminating his face. The ticking came back and began picking up speed, in turn rebuilding the panic he had just overcome. Worried someone might see the unusual light through the window, he frantically turned the necklace in his hands hoping to find a button or something that would stop whatever the thing was doing. What did he press?

"Turn off, turn off!" he pleaded under his breath. His eyes grew big when the gear circling around the jewel, now making itself known, spun faster and faster until Percy got so dizzy he felt as if he would fall over. He realized very quickly though, that the dizziness didn't come from the spinning gear, but rather the world around him. It was spinning faster than he thought possible, making everything a great blur.

Percy shut his eyes and held his head. What was happening?

Before he knew it, shock enveloped him as he was thrown across the room by some invisible force. Thankfully it didn't hurt, but to explain it well enough, it didn't feel as though his entire body was flung, but rather his spirit - his _soul_ \- had somehow escaped and pulled his consciousness with it. He didn't understand how that worked, especially so quickly, but he did know that the world had stopped spinning at this point and his earthly body was now lying on his back. He sat up with a gasp.

Everything around him was now dark and strangely quiet. There was no longer the distant sound of laughter from the campfire, or the voices of random campers visiting away from the crowd. Part of him was scared that he'd died. Was that why this necklace was so dangerous? Marguerite said - if he was remembering right - for them not to play around with it. If this thing could kill someone, he now understood why someone with the wrong intentions would go to such risks to get their hands on it. A great concern though, was how and why Marguerite would possess something so dangerous herself? Didn't she confess stealing the thing or something at the beginning?

Pushing that new found fear to the side for now, he focused on waiting for a minute or two to catch his breath and figure out what had just happened. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness and finally calmed himself down a bit, he suddenly became very confused.

Instead of finding himself dead in the underworld, he found that he was sitting upright in his bed, in his pajamas, at home as if he had just woken up from a bad dream. This he didn't understand because he _knew_ he had been standing in Chiron's office not two minutes ago wearing regular day-time clothing. Annabeth's sweater was no longer hanging over his arm, however the necklace was still tucked in Percy's hand, proof that it hadn't been a dream.

In the lack of light, when he was collected enough to do so, he tried as well as he could to study it once again.

"What did this just do?" he muttered with bewilderment. Turning it over a few times and squinting, try as he might, he couldn't find anything that stood out, at least in this darkness. He needed to wait until the sun came out again.

 _Okay, so it teleports_ , he thought to himself. That's pretty cool. But what if it randomly teleported him to a completely new part of the world where he didn't know how to get back? That freaked him out. He's gotta be more careful with this thing from now on. He can't be making any last minute vacations to Australia or something.

After this unexpected experience, Percy found his throat a bit dry. None of what happened made any sense and it wasn't even a dream. This was real. He threw his legs over the side of his bed, placed the necklace on his bedside table, and opened his door. Maybe a cool glass of water would make him feel a bit better. He'd get himself collected again and rest the remainder of the night, then figure it all out tomorrow. Chiron needed to know what this necklace was capable of.

Walking down the hall, still feeling a bit dizzy from whatever the heck happened, he stepped into the living area. He once again froze in complete confusion.

This wasn't his mom's apartment.

Positioned around a TV that was much larger than the one they owned, were two, brown, worn-down couches he hadn't seen before in his life. A throw blanket hung over the side of the longer couch and a few potted plants sat on the coffee table in between the two. Since when did his mom start planting anything? And that rug? He wouldn't catch his mom dead with a hideous orange rug like the one sitting under the table and chairs. She hated that color. What happened to the grey rug? She was so pleased with finding that thing at that street market because it matched the rest of the house. Why would she get rid of it?

And the wall color was completely different. It wasn't white anymore, it was a dusty pink. And the flooring. The floor was still laminate, but a completely different shade, some spots looking as if if had been majorly stained or something. Corners of the room looked cluttered, as if they owned more things than they could fit into the house. Shelves were overflowing. His mom would _never_ leave her place looking like this.

Then it dawned on him. He'd teleported into someone else's apartment.

Officially freaked out now, he ran for the door as quietly as he could. If he was lucky, whoever lived here was fast asleep and wouldn't wake easily to the sound of someone walking through the apartment. He reached the door and closed it behind him with a sigh of relief. The good news was, even if the necklace teleported him to the wrong room, he knew he was in the right building because the halls looked the same throughout all the floors. If he could just find his mom's apartment now, he could tiptoe in and spend the night there, then head back to camp in the morning. He was pretty sure the others were all going to wonder where he'd gone. And what would he say? That he went home? This was too weird. Now he was afraid to touch Marguerite's necklace all together. Next time, she could keep it.

Searching the numbers on the doors around him to learn where he was located in the building, his confusion grew even more. Unless he somehow forgot his own mom's apartment number, the room he was just in was supposedly the right room after all. He even double-checked the number on the door to make sure. Was this a prank or something? Because if it was, it wasn't funny. He supposed maybe his mom got an urge to redecorate the entire place...?

Daring to try again, Percy opened the apartment door, and stuck his head in. As different as it looked, the layout was exactly the same. The kitchen on the far wall with the fire escape, the table to the right, the living room to the left as well as the hallway... _New furniture is a possibility_ , he joked to himself. He'll have to ask what went wrong in the morning. At least his own room seemed untouched, even if he had only seen it in the dark.

Coming back in, he tiptoed back into the living room and crossed into the kitchen. He was still thirsty, so when he found the glasses where they always were, he was relieved something stayed the same. Filling it at the sink, he leaned against the counter and drank, not knowing what to think of any of this. He was still questioning if this was actually him mom's apartment or not, but the number on the door didn't lie.

If this really was his home, he wasn't sure what was up with is mom all of a sudden. He was pretty sure she was happy with how the place looked before all this change. Paul could have been an influence in mixing a few things up, but as far as he was aware, Percy didn't think he cared much about redecorating. The big TV was actually pretty cool, but the rug was horrendous. Orange didn't belong on the floor or on any part of the home. Orange was for fire. They should burn it. And for the rest of the place? Gods, it looked like he'd stepped back into the 1980's. The wall color... Why? He didn't understand, however if by some possible chance his mom actually _liked_ the new changes and had it down for a reason, then each to their own. Percy hated it though.

As he was lost in thought, he found his gaze fixed on the fridge. It was difficult to see in the dark, however the pictures hanging from the magnets were pulling his attention for some reason. Now interested, he leaned closer and looked at each of them. The first thing that came to his mind when studying them, was that this was 100% his mom's apartment no matter how different it looked. These pictures had just confirmed that.

In one of the pictures, he saw himself as an eight-year-old kid standing with his mom and a man dressed as a clown at the entrance of an amusement park. He had no idea what park it was because he never remembered ever standing beside a clown so willingly. He grew being scared of them and to get him close enough to take a picture with one? It wouldn't have happened so easily. However, eight-year-old Percy Jackson didn't seem fazed by it at all. His smile was as true as his excitement about the park, it was clear. Weird. You would think he would've remembered something like that.

The next picture had only him in it. He sat with a party hat in front of a cake with giant 4 candle illuminating his face. Again, he was he was smiling, but there was something about this picture that was off. Percy remembered having a party when he turned four, but the cake had always been blue, for obvious reasons. This one was yellow. Maybe it was because it was dark, but the cake didn't look blue. He supposed maybe that year was different? Why didn't he remember any of this?

Taking the last sip of his water, Percy placed the glass in the sink and sighed, rubbing his temples. "I need to get to bed," he whispered to himself, only now feeling the exhaustion. When his mom and stepdad woke, he'd ask them what was going on then. Right now, he needed to forget about this weird night. He just hoped everything would make more sense in the morning.

Sluggishly walking back to his room, he continued to rub his temples. Teleporting gave him a monster headache. He should have left the necklace in its hiding spot. All the same though, Chiron sucked at hiding things.

Percy slid back into bed and shut his eyes. He wasn't exactly expecting to have such an early night, especially on the anniversary of the defeat of Gaea. It was supposed to be a huge deal and here he was stuck at what was apparently his home, in bed, while everyone else was up having a great time visiting and playing party games. It made him start to regret asking Annabeth if she wanted a sweater. It made him regret having to stick his nose where it didn't belong. Annabeth did tell him he had a hard time leaving things alone. And it was true. This was proof of it. But it was also Marguerite's fault for getting him interested in the necklace.

In the end it didn't matter. He knew not to fuss with it. No unexpected trips anymore. He learned his lesson. He was just grateful Annabeth wasn't here to tease him about it.

Gradually, exhaustion took over and Percy fell asleep. The dreams floating through his head, as difficult as it was to remember them, were just as insane as his entire evening had been. Nothing made sense, however it did involve more teleportation. Strangely, he saw Marguerite. She was trying to tell him something, but he couldn't hear what. Her mouth was moving like she was yelling at him in fear, but no sound came out. It was like her voice was muted. Whether this was a sign that he shouldn't have touched the necklace, he didn't know, but when morning came he kind of wished he had been dreaming about finding the necklace all together. Unfortunately, when he turned to his bedside table and saw it still sitting where he'd left it, he knew it had all been real.

As he lay silently in bed, Percy eventually heard people walking around and conversing with each other in low voices. Mom and Paul were finally up.

Once more, Percy threw his blankets to the side and jumped out of bed. It was question time. He wanted to know what the hell happened to their apartment. Were they planning to surprise him by redecorating the place? If so, the surprise was out and he wasn't exactly sure what he would tell them.

"Yeah, so, Mom," he called out while walking down the hall. "I have a few questions for you and Paul here. Oh, and I guess I should say I'm home now, which I... I don't even know how, but I am and I was wondering why..."

He physically choked and stopped short once again when he reached the living area. This time, however... okay, he didn't even _know_ how to react to this one.

 _WHAT?!_

He stared back and forth between the two people standing in the living room in complete shock. This was _literally_ impossible. There was _no_ _possible_ _way_ this could be real right now. If he'd thought teleporting from camp to his mom's apartment was a shock, than this was... this was...

 _WHAT?!_

"Percy, you're face has gone as white as a ghost," his mom said in a concerned manner. "Are you okay?"

Words literally couldn't escape his mouth. He couldn't move. All he could do was stare with bewilderment at the horror standing before his very eyes. His brain was about to explode.

"Percy?" she asked again taking a few steps closer to him. "Are you alright?"

Stupidly and without a proper way to process any of this, he pointed to Gabe standing very much alive in the living room and shouted, "You're dead!"

* * *

 **Whoo! This was a long chapter!** **How many months did this take me to write? Let me see... I've lost count. Sorry guys, but as I said above, I now have my own computer! FINALLY! Updates should take shorter now. I don't have to fight for the main computer anymore. Those days are done!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this second chapter. The end was a fun twist for me. ;P We'll see how this plays out.**

 **Anyway, I'll write to you guys later,**

 **~supworld~**


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